Split Pepper

Each day I feel my figure

shrink a little more,

my ripe core

all that resists

a surrender to steam.

Each day I’m broiled crisp

until my charred skin cracks,

whisked off seeds

only bit

by your spice tolerant tongue.

Now I curl into my gut

as my stem goes limp,

then

you smooth

air from my stomach

in fresh, unpackaged breaths. Sarah Ogden is a rising junior at Rollins College and is published in several journals, including Ice Lolly Review and Outlander Zine. She is the founder and editor-in-chief of Gray Flamingo Review.